Understanding Nicole
by lizerbell86
Summary: AU/GWL... Nicole Potter may be the girl who lived but she also has Asperger's. Will she even go back to the magical world? Warning, Albus is going to be misguided through most of the story like much of the Wizarding world is.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Harry Potter, my name is Liz

AN: I am going to use my Asperger's symptoms that I have. Also, I know that Asperger's was not officially diagnosed as a name until 1994 but we are going to pretend that the diagnoses has been there for years.

Nicole Potter did have a good family after her parents died, her aunt Petunia, uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley. Nicole knew all about her parents and their world. She knew she is like them when she turned Dudley green when he tried to mess with her chemistry set. It went away in five minutes but that is where the problem began for Nicole, she has Asperger's. Everyone had known about it since she was four.

When Nicole was four, she was not talkative at all. You almost had to force her to speak. When she spoke, it came out like a monotone robot. She walked with a stiff gate falling all over everything. She is hypersensitive to touch and sound.

Nicole developed a love of chemistry through a science camp. She knew about all of the different types of research that you can do with chemistry.

The letter arrived and Vernon was concerned "Should we actually send her there Pet? Do they know what they are getting into and know how to deal if she has a melt down. I still say she goes to St. Agatha ' s where it is close to home and they keep a strict schedule. You know what happens if you interrupt her routine? Also we can keep her at Golden Dragon Academy to keep her in jujitsu. We are supposed to keep her interest in mind but I do not think this school is right for her."

Vernon echoed what she felt. "Her niece is a genius, she has the IQ of one. Do they even know what Asperger's is? This would be a huge interruption of routing for her which could cause her problems. Secondly, what happens if she has a melt down? She gets picked on enough and they could torture her there out of ignorance.

One thing that bothered Petunia the most was when she came down from Lily being a freak, Lily's world treated her like a freak because of her blood. The muggles have enough power to kill them all with the weapons alone.

"Vernon, I will ask that we speak to the staff there. If they are ignorant on Asperger's or only want her at that school because of family ties than she does not go. She can always find her way to that world later on. "

Dudley shrugged his shoulders because he knew how much his cousin wanted to go to St. Agatha's. Telling her she has to go somewhere else would not make her too happy.

...

Sorry this is so short but just to get your toes wet. Let's see:Will Petunia get her meeting and Nicole getting to go to Hogwarts or will she discover the world of magic later on? There will be no return of Voldemort because Nicole has enough to deal with as someone living with Asperger's.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Harry Potter, I am just having fun with the characters

AN I am going to make some of the characters in the Wizarding world ignorant, Autism/Asperger's deniers, and so forth. I also want some characters to make huge mistakes as well.

I am going to let Nicole have some constant good things like an aunt, uncle, and cousin who cares. Also, she is friendly with the other kids in her Judo class but not friends . She just feels like she does not connect in with anyone and basically like she was born on the wrong planet.

I am going to give Nicole OCD which also will feed into her behavior which will affect her constant need for consistent routines. It is common for people with Asperger's to carry a dual diagnosis from what my therapist has explained to me over the years. I will give Nicole my OCD. I will try to keep my explanations simple so everyone can understand. The last thing I want is this to look like a research paper. If you want to learn more about the topic of Asperger's a.k.a. Autism Spectrum Disorder, please go to

...

Replies were coming in for kids who would be attending Hogwarts and something surprised Minerva "What is Asperger's Syndrome?"

Severus was in the office when he heard this, so a new student might have Asperger's, interesting. He had a student with Asperger's and they all should remember him, James Martin. He graduated three years ago from Ravenclaw house but his mild and you barely noticed his. His Asperger's was a weak form of it. He was surprised to hear of a new student having it and the student must come from a muggles home because it is so rare among witches and wizards. That was when he saw the name "Nicole Potter?" The last person who he would expect would be Lily's child.

"Albus, remember James Martin? He had it but the staff seemed to shove his mild Asperger's to the side since he did act mostly like everyone else but struggled immensely during the first year. He just could not take the change of routine well and to make it worse, he closed himself off from classmates with his lack of people skills. We nearly ran him out of the school with not understanding this. Lily's daughter will not be like the other kids, her personality and even basic mannerisms will be different."

Albus showed his ignorance first "She will be like her parents and be Gryffindor. She needs to come here and do what it expected of her, what her parents expect of her. We treated Mr. Martin like a normal student and yes, we nearly ran him out of the school, but he came back."

Severus groaned "Nicole was raised outside of the Wizarding world like you wanted but she will not be fitting into your molds Albus. Secondly, she will not be super outgoing like her parents. Now, I hardly doubt she will be in Gryffindor. I think she will most likely go to Ravenclaw."

Making a mistake with James Martin was a real mistake because Asperger's is real and you do need to take a different approach with them sometimes.

That was when Minerva decided to stand against Albus because she knew he just did not understand the concept of something like Autism or Asperger's. "Albus; Severus, my self, and Pomfrey will meet up with the Dursley family to discuss Nicole. I will tell them that you have fallen ill and cannot attend. She should be here because most likely her accidental magic has been causing chaos. Your attitude will not sell the school to her aunt and uncle.

She is not going to be like James and Lily because she is not. Nicole, from what her file has read is she is far ahead of her peers academically and has a gift for chemistry. Nicole is going to have problems with bullies and she will be viewed as a freak here.

Now we need to address the bullying problem because it goes on in all years and in all houses. It has gotten out of hand is the main reason why the children leave. We need to go beyond detention and loss of house points. We start denying them privileges, suspensions, and at worst case scenario, we expel them but all staff needs to be on board with this one or else it will fail."

...

Petunia was waiting for a reply about the meeting because she did not want to say anything to Nicole that she did not have all of the facts. She knew enough about the Wizarding world, but with Nicole you need to have the hard facts or else she will not understand. That is one part of her Asperger's, everything to her is either black and white.

At school, she can do the math and sciences at a level of a genius. She even turned Dudley in a fan of doing more math and science. However, anything that involved creative writing or art class, she was awful at.

Nicole thrived in jijitsu class with Dudley. Here she was taught how to deal with bullies without violence and everything else. Nicole and Dudley were studying to take their black belt tests which meant extra practice at home.

The other perk about Nicole being in martial arts is she learned how to control stress which had dramatically reduced the amount of meltdowns or in her case panic attacks.

P.S. Don't worry, Petunia will get her meeting and Nicole is not going to be happy.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Harry Potter, just having fun with the characters.

Nicole and Dudley were coming home Judo and by the time they reached the door, Nicole could hear a "Nicole can you come here please" from aunt Petunia.

Inside the room, there was a man who looked like a bat, and two women that could be grandmothers.

"Nicole, remember when I said that there is a chance you will not be going to St. Agatha's? I am starting to think that St. Agatha's may not be the best school for you with all of the accidental magic you perform. It is hard enough to explain it away. Your uncle and I feel this might be a better fit."

Everyone was watching Nicole because they saw this funny look in her eyes. They learned she does not take change to routine well which is part of her Asperger's. Before a meltdown could begin, Petunia stepped in "Nicole, do you have any questions for them?"

Severus looked at Lily's daughter and it is obvious she is not a spoiled brat and she is nothing like James. She does not even look like him. He did his research into what Asperger's is and he knew if something like this happened in a pure blood family, the child would be disowned. She is not going to have it easy and he knew there was going to be a bullying with her.

"Will I even get to take chemistry there?" The tone in her voice was monotone and almost sounded like a robot. This is the Asperger's talking.

"We have potions in our world. It is very similar to chemistry."

That did seem to satisfy Nicole because she has a passion for chemistry and judo. Now Severus had something else to add "I will picking up Miss Potter to take her to get her school supplies tomorrow."

Petunia remembered her days with going with Lily to get her supplies "Severus, I will need to give you some of her medication that she has to take ."

Severus was used to dealing with children with ADD and ADHD. That has been on the rise for years in the Wizarding world. Four of his snakes have it so he is used to the medication.

Nicole was already dreading this. She knew her mother died as a hero and she would have everyone watching her. The worst part is it would be crowded and loud. That made her shudder, too much sound and too many people.

...

Dumbledore had the information about Asperger's in front of him on his desk. The sources came from some of the best research institutes of the world.

"This is not how I wanted Nicole ' s return to be. The people will not accept their savior for acting like a freak. She just needs some harsher discipline. That will get her acting like a normal person."

Dumbledore you are so wrong. Harsher discipline is not the answer nor is complete special treatment either. Hogwarts does need to acknowledge that times are changing and students with some disabilities are gaining entrance. It is time for the Wizarding world to stop shunning someone who does not fit the definition of "normal".

One thing is for certain, Nicole is going to show the Wizarding world that normal is highly over rated. Nicole has always had the drive to show people that just because she is different, that she can do it. Nicole just tries to push it to be better which does not make her popular with the kids sometimes.

A/N. Another part of my Asperger's is I do not do well out in crowds because I do not like people getting too close to me. Secondly, the noise sends me into sensory overload. Being in Diagon alley will be a test for Nicole because this is exactly what she hates the most.

She will be a target for bullies and it will start in the train.

I am not planning on her being in Gryffindor nor am I going to make her into a seeker. Nicole hates crowds and noise so a quidditch game is something that she will not enjoy. Secondly, I will plan on her being afraid of heights making flying lessons her worst so next that she needs remedial help in.

So what house could she be in?


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Harry Potter, just having fun with the characters

AN: I am not trying to character bash except have them be misinformed.

AN: As it stands right now, the fans are leaning towards Nicole being in Slytherin. I plan on having her sorted by Saturday. Any more takers on Ravenclaw because I do not see her being in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.

The next morning, Nicole was woken up early because this would be the day she was going to go to Diagon alley to get her school supplies and her uniform.

Today it is her turn to help with breakfast and Petunia passed her her medication cup with all of the pills that she has to take because of the Asperger's and the OCD. While she was helping to cut up the peppers, onion, and tomato for the omelet, Petunia IA noticed Nicole starting to arrange everything by size and cutting too perfectly. Time to stop her.

"Ah, Nicole"

That is where Nicole ' s OCD came in, she does size and arrangements of ten. That did not get diagnosed until she was six. Vernon picked up on that one and brought it up with the therapist and earned her a chance get of medication.

Soon, Severus arrived and Severus was handed a small bottle with three pills that she would have to take while she was out with him and a bottle of water. There is one tiny white round pill that Severus learned is for her panic attacks if she has one or better known as a melt down.

Severus had the vault key and the money for her school supplies ready to go. Nicole ' s first test was the portkey which landed her on her but right in the middle of the alley. It got much worse, everyone was looking at Nicole. Time to pull the bags out of the head band.

This first one who actually said something " You must be Nicole Potter. I have children who are about your age..."

Nicole started to get a wide eye look. This is exactly what she does not like and good thing Severus was there. "Molly, Arthur; Miss Potter needs to get her school supplies."

It was a sigh of relief, now it was onto the Madam Malkin ' s and Severus walked in with Nicole while Draco gawked. Severus saw what his godson was doing "Don't gawk Draco, it is rude."

Draco closed this mouth "I am Draco Malfoy, what is your name?"

Nicole, who is well known for being monotone in voice , dead panned "My-name-is-Nicole." Draco looked at her funny which is not a surprise to Nicole because most people do.

Mrs. Malfoy came in and took one good at Nicole. She saw Aunt Dorea in the little girl. She paid for Draco ' s robes and left with him.

The morning was spent without one problem. Nicole did seem to be very intimidated a little worse than other children, yet Nicole is not like other children.

Severus decided to go for lunch in one of those places where the well to do eat, meaning the pure bloods. This would take the attention off Nicole and be less crowded. The Calderon would have a little more attention than Severus would like and frankly he was not in the mood for someone trying to separate him from Nicole because he was a death eater. It was the worse mistake of his life that caused him his Lily. Something else, Lily named him godfather to Nicole. He just could not take custody of her because of his mistake.

Nicole was eating in silence when a loud pop and flash hapend. Nicole nearly jumped out of her seat and looked doe eyed. It is that pest Skeeter.

"Miss Potter, good, I found you. Just need a few words of you being back in the Wizarding world..."

The photographer went to take a picture of Nicole when Nicole sabotaged the picture by waving her arm in front of her face. This was not what she wanted, to have the attention.

"Please leave me alone " asked Nicole.

Narcissa was not happy because she did not want that harpie disrupting her lunch and trying to tell Nicole of her father.

"Nicole, a word. The public want to know about you.

Severus went to school with Rita and could not stand her at all. He had been waiting years to shut her up.

"Ms. Skeeter, I believe Miss Potter asked you to leave her alone. You do not have permission to take a picture of her without parent or guardian permission. You do not have that. Leave"

Rita did not take a hint and now she was making a scene. She yanked Nicole out of her seat "Just let me get that second picture and hold still you brat. The public will know what a little brat you are having everyone at your beckon call."

Nicole was close to a melt down when she kept her wits about her "Let-go-of-me-please. I-believe-Professor-asked-you-to-go."

"Talk to me like a normal person you petulant child" yelled Skeeter right in the middle of the restaurant.

Nicole used her Judo, a small piece of it just to get out of her grasp. She knew Sensei Han would approve. What Nicole did was twist her wrist around and use her other hand to pull up. Skeeter was taken by surprise and she let go. Nicole went to put some distance between her and that pest.

By this point, Skeeter had Severus and the Malfoys pointing their wands at Skeeter. Skeeter saw the owners and Ogden told her in no certain terms "Leave and I am pressing charges. You are banned from her for life."

Skeeter shouted "YOUR NAME WILL BE IN RUINS OGDEN. POTTER, THE WORLD WILL KNOW YOU ARE A BRAT AND A FREAK!"

Marie Ogden was making the apologies while Tiberius was handling her. Severus pulled out her pills and gave them to Nicole. She looked like she was going to have a melt down. He cast a quick and light calming charm on her because at this point he wished he had some calming drought on him.

Draco knew if he said anything that was and nothing but friendly to Nicole , he would be in very deep trouble.

"Are you o.k." asked Draco.

Nicole dead panned "Not-the-first-time-I-have-been-called-freak."

Draco read it as she will be o.k. There is something to Nicole. She is not like other kids.

Everyone wanted to be out of there. Skeeter spoiled it. There will be other chances.

On the way out, Lucas asked his long time friend "Pressing charges?"

Severus nodded "I am and her aunt and uncle need to know. Maybe three sets of criminal complaints will put her into place."

Nicole could not wait to be home "Thank you Professor Snape. Nice to meet you Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy, and Draco."

Lucius made a mental note to ask about Nicole because there is something to her that is not because she is muggle raised. Severus was going to explain to his friends and godson about Nicole having Asperger's. He knew Draco would keep his mouth shut if he knew what was good for him.

When Severus went into the tale of Nicole ' s lunch. Petunia looked ready to explode. "Nicole, I will be going with your professor to press charges. This is not acceptable." She knew what her aunt meant and knew she needed Judo tonight, that always helped when she is upset. Nicole may not be good at verbalizing but she got whatever would agitate her out there. That would be the bad part of her no school, no Judo.

Nicole, you will soon learn about the room of requirement.

...

Nicole would officially hate Diagon alley but learn that their are some distant relatives that will not treat her like she is peculiar once they know about Asperger's.

Skeeter will be bashed because she goes too far for a story. It will be exposed that she is an illegal Animagus.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Harry Potter, just having fun with the characters.

Over the coming days there was something great to happen before either start school. Dudley and Nicole would be taking their Judo black belt tests which has been their dream for a long time now. Dudley and Nicole have been studying non stop even though the two 90 them are neck and neck for Sensei Han ' s best students.

on the day of the test, Dudley and Nicole were dropped off in their blue gis. Nicole had her chocolates red hair tied back and wearing her lucky hair ribbon, like she needs it anyways. There is so much material to cover and Nicole knew she was going to have to train by herself in school if she wants to advance in her black belt training. The ultimate goal is to make it to red belt but black belt is a very big deal.

White, yellow, and orange material went by in what seems like memories long ago. This all became second nature. Green and blue belt material was a little bit more challenging but nothing that could not be handled. Brown belt you had to think because both knew if you blow a black belt test with Sensei Han, it is on the brown belt material. Once you get through that you are in the clear for now.

Out of the sixteen, twelve passed. The four who did not pass are the slackers of the class who may have to take the test multiple times. The end of the test resulted in situps and pushups. Petunia and Vernon were watching from the upper deck that you can see in the dojo. The kids were removing their brown belts who passed and were given their black belts to put on. Everyone was cheering for them because they have been working so hard and so long for this day to come.

For Nicole, she had started Judo first as a way to help with confidence and to help with coordination, a problem with her Asperger's. Sensei Han became a mentor and more like an uncle. He worked very hard with her over the years where you barely noticed the coordination problem.

Petunia and Vernon had cameras ready to go. "You two smile, you knew we are going to be taken pictures of today." Nicole and Dudley smiled and soon it was over. Everyone needed to go home because it is so tiring.

Once they were out in the car park, Petunia smiled "If you two are up to it when we get home, clean up and we will go into London to eat at the Hard Rock Café. You earned it." When the faces beamed up, Petunia and Vernon had their answer. At home, the rules are judo bags in the garage because they can smell and you are to bring your gi into the laundry room.

Dinner was all smiles and the last night of true fun before the kids head off to their new schools. What Dudley and Nicole did not know is they did have belt display racks for them. Hopefully they can put the black belt on the rack someday and there'd and white one too. That is something g few do in a lifetime when they do not give up.

Petunia had sent a three month supply of all of Nicole ' s medication to the school nurse with instructions. Nicole was to have medication with her on the train and hand it over to her head of house at night. A note would be there so she would not get into trouble.

For the train ride, Nicole had comfortable clothing on for the long trip and had some books on chemistry with her. Someone was good to her when she found a compartment by herself. Nicole did have the sense of mind to pull her bangs out of her signature purple headband. No one needs to see the scar, she just Nicole.

Life was not so good when a red headed pest sat down " You are Nicole Potter, you and I will be together in Gryffindor, I just know it."

Nicole knew what to expect "No one knows where they are truly going until the sorting hat decides."

Ron wanted to talk to her and make the trip more enjoyable. Severus Snape shunned his family away from her in the alley. "Why do you want to be reading that?"

Nicole flat toned "I find the subject of chemistry fascinating with all that you can do with it, nothing is more exciting as chemistry."

Ron knew what chemistry is and he saw a snake in the making "I was hoping you would not turn into being one of those snakes but you are one in the making. I came here to meet a friend that I was told to make. I found a freak instead of liom.."

The freak part gets old rather fast. Before Ron could cause more problems, Draco found his cousin. Draco had learned about Nicole having asperger's and he knew to keep his bloody mouth shut or risk the wrath of his parents and godfather. He also knew his parents did seek custody of Nicole since the Blacks now had ties with the Potter family. Nicole would have grown up being his sister.

"Weasel, go sit with your others. Like the Gryffindorks,."

Ron had the wind taken out of him and left.

"Nicole, you should not be talking with the likes of the Weaselys, they are bad news. The family of his other, has a blood feud with the Potters that has been around for a century.

Now let me introduce you to my friends. They are Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Tracey,Goyle and Crabbe."

This did make Nicole nervous but sat back and was nice about it. Little did she know that this is her first shot of making friends outside of the dojo. They would find out about the Asperger's later on, but for right now it is Nicole ' s secret which would be on a need to know basis. Most people do not need to know.

AN/ I do want something that Nicole loves outside of anything academic. Secondly, guess where she is going and it is for her own good. Nicole will soon learn that one house she had been thinking of which is not Gryffindor would be the best place.

Name the House she goes to

The hat will tell Nicole that "You are not right for Gryffindor and you take after your grandmother...You do not belong in...but you do belong in..."


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Harry Potter, I am just playing with the characters.

...

Just the sights were starting to get too much for Nicole and now entering the Great Hall was down right terrifying for Nicole. First, is the crowd. There are nearly 1000 students there which means noise.

Nicole was about to learn the meaning of all eyes on you. It did not mean people put their eyes on her, it just meant people are watching her.

"Nicole Potter"

Nicole looked a little concerned but sat 90 the stool. Her eyes were shut up tightly to not see everyone looking at her.

"Miss Potter, you are not like your parent. Not a bad mind but the house of the Ravens is not for you. Gryffindor is not right for you either. You are loyal but only to few, Helga would have loved to have you but a place with the Badgers is not right for you either. My you have ambition and thirst to prove yourself. The house of the Snakes is where you need to be. Better be SLYTHERIN."

There were gasps but the Slytherins were applauding, they were not as bad as people believed. The war is over and it is going to stay that way. Many if they used blood slurs would have their mouths cleaned out with a soap charm.

Nicole went to sit down at the far end of the table but Draco would not have it. He knew she was going to isolate herself from the rest of the house. His parents explained it quite well.

"Nicole, sit here"

Draco received a dirty look because there is something he did not know and that is Nicole loves being left alone. It was just one of her many quirks.

Thank you for small favors because during the feast, Nicole had some peace even though she was surrounded too closely by people.

...

During the feast, when he saw Nicole being sorted into his house, well it was just for the better because he could keep a better eye on her. She had so much against her here and her seven years are not going to be an easy seven years. He would have to stop by to pick up her night medication.

His office had a small medication cabinet full of his snake's medication. The medication is for twelve of the known who needs it. Nicole 2 old make thirteen so far but he needed to check the files on the rest of the first years in his house. Taking one good look are Nicole, he could tell she needed some of them because he saw the look of what could be a melt down.

McGonagall just did not know what to think because she was expecting Nicole to be a lion but she was mistaken. She had not seen her since she was a baby and one look of her could remind her of Dorea Black-Potter. Nicole looked so much like her it was scary. She must take after her grandmother in personality as well.

She knew she would need to keep a close eye on her because she is the second student with Asperger's that have graced the halls and she knew the mistakes she made in the past. Instead of handling the problem head on and trying to unwind the problem, she docked points severely and was liberal in giving out detentions to him.

The rest of the staff were in shock because they were expecting Nicole to be another Gryffindor. They knew about her having the Asperger's and felt like this school should not have to play host to her with her freakish behavior. For many of them, Asperger's is just an excuse for bad behavior. It is not real except for being painfully shy but so many students are shy and nothing more is said on being shy. The idea is to discipline her frequently to show her that there is no need to act peculiar. The last student that they did this to was nearly ran out of the school and the thought he was just being a dramatic brat.

Sprout had compassion for her and knew Nicole would try to earn the respect of teachers by doing her best and working hard in her studies. While she would treat Nicole like any other student, she would be fair about it and take her behavior case by case. Divine did not have to be overly harsh like what the staff did to the last student. It solved nothing and put a target on him for even more bullying. This year she was going to reign in the bullying and had no problem with it. Her complaints over the last 20 years fell on deaf ears from Dumbledore. Her badgers were not completely innocent but she was going to be clear on it.

For Flitwick, he knew he was going to have to be in her corner. He knew what Asperger's is and knew someone with Asperger's can do great things with the right direction given to them. They did not need to be hidden just worked with. Unlike the rest of the staff who he suspected would show their ignorance, he would knew what he was dealing with. It had been a while since he read up on Asperger's and knew more would be known about Asperger's.

Dumbledore was disappointed in Nicole. He could not accept that she would not be a lion like everyone would be expecting. Ravenclaw would be acceptable if she put her values on knowledge. Nicole must be taught she can never be good enough to be a witch and the best way to teach her is to have her serve several detentions, several long terms detentions. She would learn that her weakness is not acceptable, it is just bad behavior. Discipline is the only cure for this so called "Asperger's. " His only thought of how Nicole made it into the house he hates the most is she takes after Dorea. Nicole is a quarter Black.

...

The staff are about to learn Nicole does not back down and she knew her back was thrown into the wall. She knew she was in a world of ignorance and it is time to teach them a lesson. She knew there must be others like her. There is no excuse to hide them.

...

A/N I am going to make this into seven years with seven stories. This year will be about Nicole proving she can do the about academics with being at the top. She would prove that she belongs in this world first by her proving by academics. Nicole will show the world that her "disability" can make her do great things in this world by making a positive contribution.

Now she did read all of her books before starting school. It will be planned on Nicole ' s great contribution will take place while she is in school.

Will her contribution be medical of some other area? This will be a project that she will be working on with Severus instead of being obsessed with quidditch. Nicole, however will introduce the school to martial arts and knock one of her misguided professors down a peg latter on. I want you to give me a name of a professor that does martial arts and when Nicole ' s black belt is discovered, it will open the door for a positive relationship with this professor. There will be some sunny spots during her seven years. This will not be all doom and gloom because of the Asperger's .


End file.
